C4
COLLEGE BOUND
THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
SEPTEMBER 2021
MORE COMPETITIVE WHY IS COLLEGE ADMISSION GETTING
schools as possible to secure suffi- cient offers of admission. In 2015, the Washington Post reported that seniors at a New Jersey high school applied to, on average, 45 colleges each, with one student applying to as many as 70 schools. That’s crazy, and no guidance counselor would support it, but some families are willing to pay all those ap- plication fees to “find out.” Using the Common Application makes applying to colleges even easi- er: commonapp.org. It’s one application used by 800-plus colleges across the country. It includes a single essay, it’s filled out online, and students check off the colleges to which they want to send their application.
try’s most elite schools; we’re talking about just 50-100 schools when there are 4,000 or so colleges and universi- ties across the country. Nationally, the acceptance rate for undergraduates is 70%. Among the top tier of public and private liberal arts institutions, appli- cations have increased by one-third or more during the last five years. Yet the available spaces have remained con- stant. Here are two of the major reasons for the increased competitiveness in col- lege admissions: 1. There are more students, and many of these students are applying to more schools. Many of today’s college applicants are part of what’s referred to as the “Echo Boom” —kids of Baby Boomers and beyond. There are just more kids out there. Four years ago, there were 2.5 mil- lion high school graduates. This year, according to the Department of Education, there will be
Stanford rejected almost 96%of its ap- plicants, and a large%age of themhad perfect SAT or ACT scores. It’s obvi- ously not enough to be a strong student with great test scores. Those objective characteristics will get you considered, but it is the softer, more subjective items that end up sealing the deal. Think about it: There is a valedicto- rian and a salutatorian at every high school in the country. There’s also a newspaper editor and a student gov- ernment president at every school, and then think about the number of soc- cer players, cheerleaders, Beta Club members and National Honor Society inductees. It’s difficult for students to set themselves apart. To be fair, the college admissions panic is really only among the coun-
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Tribune News Service R
ight now, the angst among high school seniors and their parents is palpable. Almost every parent I speak with says something like, “It
wasn’t this stressful when I applied to college. Why is it so muchmore com- petitive now?” There’s no denying that many of us parents wouldn’t be accepted at our own alma maters if we were applying today. Standardized test scores have inched up and acceptance rates have dropped. Why is it so muchmore diffi- cult to be admitted? The stats demonstrate just how muchmore competitive the world of college admissions has become.
Beware: There are often supplemental essays for many colleges as well. With a keystroke and a credit card, students can spon- taneously apply to more andmore colleg- es. And they do. Let’s end with an en- couraging statistic: What%age of students get into their first-choice
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3.6 million graduates. Thirty years ago, half of high school gradu- ates applied to college. Today, due in large part to our increas- ingly global economy, almost two-thirds of high school graduates are applying to college. Many students are trying to hedge their bets and are apply- ing to more colleges. In 1975, only 3.2%of stu- dents applied to seven or more colleges. In 2006, that number was 17.4%. And
school? It’s not 25%, not 40%. More than 75% find that they
have many choices, including their first- choice school. Now that’s good news.
with Us
EMILY SHULLAW ILLUSTRATION , LEE ENTERPRISES
in 2019, many college-bound students
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decided to hedge their bets and ap- ply to as many
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